Apparatus for manufacturing plywood tubes



C. KRAMER APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURINGPLYWOOD TUBES July 15, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed .May 10 1948 July 15, 1952 c. KRAMER APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING PLYWOOD TUBES 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 10, 1948 3nnentor Gttomeg J y 15, 1952 c. KRAMER 2,603,579

APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING PLYWOOD TUBES Filed May 10, 1948 s Sheets-Sheet s Imventor CHARLLS KRAMER f r W (Ittorneg a I Figure 2 is an Patented July 15, 1952 APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING I PLYWOOD TUBES This. invention-pertains to apparatus for forming, on a production basis, a. plurality of individualplaniform sheetsor plies of wood veneer or. of veryflexible plywood into a finished unit to constitute the four sidewalls of a box, case, crate or similar article and concurrently setting or curing. glue. disposed. between the juxtaposed facesof said sheets while theentire outer'surface of the unitissubjected to pressure that-has been applied progressively. I v, I .The primary object of the present invention the provision. of. improved, means and method of producing on-alarge scale and at a low cost, tubes of the; type, adverted to above and of an outstanding high grade quality as to appearance and structure affording service of longer duration than heretofore attained from articles of this general classification, especially those pertaining toadelivery of bottled liquids, currently referred to as .beverage cases.

ExiAnother object of this invention relates to the apparatus for expeditiously forming plies of wood intohigh grade tubes by operators who can be developed into experts through short periods of training. I 1 A further object of this invention relates to a methodand means foreffecting a lap-joint at theloose ends of a plurality of individual planiform plies of wood afte they have been formed into an incomplete tube of plywood to complete a tuD QIfiQL. W r Y 3 Thisinvention also provides improved methods and means of producing plywood tubes as will be described with reference to the drawings. and set out in the: accompanying claims,

" Withreference to the drawings: 7

Figure l is a perspective vview of apparatus employed to wind a stack of loosely assembled plies of wood veneer about a mandrel and to fuse them. into a unit by means of an adhesive, heat andpressure; I I V v elevation, on an enlarged scale, of the'centralportion of Fig. 1 showing an end portion of a stack of loose plies applied and securedto a horizontallydisposed mandrel mounted for-rotation.

'F ure 3 is a sectional elevation of Fig. 2 on line 33. v

: Figured is a diagrammatic view of the pressure applying apparatus and the mandrel for forming a'loose1y assembled stack of plies as seen in Fig. 2 intoa composite tube as shown in Fig. 6.

-Figure 5 is a perspective view of the ram end of the apparatus onwhich the mandrel is mounted and afragment of the right hand side or fpreswe end? Of F -1'; a

Charles Kramer, J efiersonville, Ind., assignor to The Mengel. Company, Louisville, Ky., a. 001'- f u r poration of New Jersey j Application May'10, 1948, Serial No.- 26,104

" is Claims. (o1. 154 1.s)

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a portion of the product, a plywood tube and the lap-joint at the ends thereof. I

Figure '7 is a perspective View, on a reduced scale, of a stack of loose plies from which the tube is formed. 7 v

Figure 8 is a perspective view-of the right hand end portion of a fabric hose of one of the eleven pressure units. 7 7

Figure 8A is a section of Fig. 8 on line 8A,8A ofFigg8. ,7 u

Figure 9 is a perspective view of bottle case, the end product of ,one embodiment of the present disclosure.

To the supporting base ll, Figs. 1 and 5, are mounted two major units, the ram section at the left end, designated generally by numeral l2. and the pressure section, designated generally by 13, at the other end. The main shaft His organized to, slide longitudinally and rotate in fixed bearing l5 and slidable bearing block I6 to which the shaft is permanently located by collar [1 and hub of annular face plate I8 so that the.

latter and mandrel I9, carried on the shaft, can be moved from the position shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in Fig. 5. This bearing block slides on the top-surface 20 of bench 2| that is permanently attached to the supporting base. This bearing blocl; is slid in response to'fiuid pressure applied to a piston in stationary cylinder 22 to actuate ram 23, the right end of whichis articulated to block [5. Also permanently attached to bench 2| are two columns 24 provided for fixedly supporting four horizontally disposed stripper rods-25, the free ends 26 of which project freely into holes 21 of but not beyond the face plate when block I6 is extended tolocate the mandrel for service as shown in Fig. 1. .The right hand faces ofthese stripper rods are located for register with the left handedg e face of tube 30 as shown in Fig. 5. Between this face and the ends of therods is stripper plate 29 to prevent the rod ends fromdamaging the tube, since considerable force is required to strip the tube from the mandrel, In Fig. 5 the tubeis shown stripped to the right hand of the mandrel ready to be manually removed. s

Withreference to Fig. 1, the right hand end of rotating unit 3| of pressure section I3 is carried on shaft 3 lA mounted and retained in fixed bearing 32 with suitable collars for rotation, hereinafter amplified, while the periphery of the open ended ring 33, left handend thereof, is carried on rollers 34, 34 mounted on base I I. Under case 3A are stored ,ten of the eleven substantially duplicateeindependent pneumatic pressure units,

rotating unit 3| and rigidly affixed to case 3A so as to constitute a permanent integralpart oft-he In Fig. 4, the diagrammaticframework thereof. portraiture of these pressure units shows them removed from case 3A andextendedfinposition for applying pressure to a plur'ali'ty"'of"plies' of Wood (not shown in this figure) when wrapped around mandrel I9. In Fig. 2 oneu'nit is' shown completely and another partially withdrawn from the case. I

The pressure bar supports 46 and pressure slider bars 41 are each 'steel' b'eams having an I section as shown in Fig. 3. From the vertical web of the former, at the left hand end under ring 33, are secured'apair of bracket'arms' lil, 48, on the lower endsof which are-mountedrollers 49, 49 for movably carrying the pressure'bars. At the right hand end of each of these bars are slides (not shown) forembracing the lower-horizontal webs for supporting and maintaining'th'ese bars in a substantially horizontal path =-when stored under case 3A and as they are withdrawn.

' In each of the lowercorner areas'of pressure plate '52, permanently secured to the-lower face of bar 41, is a hole in which is slidablylodged-a long bolt '50, the lower ends of which are'secu'red tocorresponding corners of shoe 5! which has a flat top 'face corresponding in areato the pressureplate. Between the lower face of'the pressure'plate and thetop face of'the shoe-is a pneumatic hose 53 sealed at the left hand end'withclamp 54 and at the other end 'with'clampf 55 (Fig-8) which-is provided with-anip-ple 56 to which is attachedhose 5'! for servicing the hose: A compression spring- 58 surrounds each-bolt'and exerts pressure tending to squeeze the nose; be tween the shoe and pressure plate; to -collapse it after manually operatedtwo, position valve" 59 has been moved to place' the interior of the hose into communication with the atmos-phere; in

the firstposition, the valve is'clos'ed to prevent compressor (not shown) bymeans 'of' a "rotatable i packed joint 64. *In this position 'the interior-of thehose is'in communication with the'at nos phere asstated' and the spring-maintains it-in a collapsed state until airpressure isappli-edfi'To limit the travel of the'shoe, sleeve stops-65' are provided, they 'surround the bolts F50. ""When the valveis. in the other positionair'under pressure isfed to the hose'to'expandit'andforce the' ex posed or outer'face of 'shOe'into contact with the outer'surface of the top'ply of asta'ckpf wood veneer as shown by unit 35'in'Figs: 2 and 3. v

At the extreme left hand end of each of' 'the pressure slide bars '41 are a vertical'hanfdle'ffifi for manually sliding thebars' and a'horizontallock pin" 61' for engagement" with fa'ce' plate Li a" by means of entering the correlated one of the eleven pinholes 68 inface'plat'el 8. It will be perceived that when each of'the'slide barsfjis completely withdrawn, as shownin Figs. 1 and ,2, l5 is firmly anchored atone :end to ring' 33andfto1'face'plate 18st the 'dtherend' and that it'is" capable" or 're- 4 sisting the pressure exerted upwardly in response to inflation of hose 53. It should also be noted that when the pressure unit is inflated ram section I2 is effectively tied to the pressure section l3 since the shoe or shoes are exerting heavy pressure on "mandrel 'iplained above. After the hose of one pressurs-ctidn has been inflated, power, either intermittently or continuously, is applied to shaft 31A through sprocket With ithe exception of the face contour of the shoes that contact the outside face of the tube in 1 from"woodfveneerson the mandrel, the pressure 'unitsare duplicates.

Units 36, 38, 4| and 43 have concave facesito embrace the round corners of step in the manufacture i-ofthew p'lywo'od -tube adverted to above.' -For the production of this tube, a section of' which-"provides the ends and sides as a unit-for a bottle icaseg s'hownt'in 'complete form, in Fig. 9, five plies-are used'rthe center one-being approximately i /g 'of "an inch thickness and the others of an inch. The r'iext-step in t-he process end 1 5 Fig. 6;"of the :stack o'f: plies is "manuallylaid onmand'rel -1 9 with the edge =76 of 1116' leading or "far end ali'gnecr with} hilt-d15- posed above the vertieal face 195 of notch" [3B in mandrel l9 and with the longitudinal ed'gescf the 'stack aligned with fth-e' side fac'es-of =thrmandrel. W hen thus alignedpressure unit 35 iswithdrawn and located with pintTinserted in hole 68 as shown in Fig. 2, tl ienwalve' fl i operated to inflate the hose and force the shoeiritocontact with the stack of plies and firmly grip itiorito rthe mandrel. The adjacent unsecured'por tion'of the stack toward the operator is then manuallypu lled and pressed against the "-mandrel while the latter is rotated slowly away from the: operatori stationed at the front cr me-apparatuses'viewecr m Fig." 1. "Concurrently," as the "stack of plies is T thusly prepared for being pressed, 'pressure'l nlts are withdrawn seriatim, located andfnianipiilat'ed as explained-from unit? 5=upto=bu't not nclu'dihg units 44, 45 which remain in case f3A= ulitil the lap-joint l1 is prepared: "for pressure *threby.

' The preparation'consists of -applying adhsiveflto the top surfaceof thesecured end-li and-the under surface oft-he unsecured end ofthe tack of veneers. These ends'are then--lapped asshown in" Fig. 3. -After presSure-unit's-QL 45' have withdrawnandpressure appliedto -this 1ap-- by unit 45, these ends are forced tcfas'sn form" shown in Fig. 6.f--As"press'ure 7 through the shoe of-unit 45''-the end-area 15 is forced into notch 1 9B. As WiII be-nQtedin Fi'g'; 3, thisshoe straddlestheirregularlv d spose ds of the several plies and applies pressfiir these ends since -the shoe-is preferably fa" rubber. 7 V 1 "After the pliesare located' 'andsecurd u'nder thel-shoes the adhesive -iscuredacc'ordin fto he are not described since this art is'wei1 understood and it isno part of this invention. u

After the plywood has been removed fromthe mandrel, asexplained above, the offset edges of the plies at the lap-joint are removed in order that all the walls of the tube will be of uniform thickness as they appear in Fig.9. a 1

I While it will be apparent that the illustrated embodiments of my invention herein disclosed are well calculated to adequately fulfill 'theobjects and advantages primarily stated, it is. to be understood that the invention issusceptible to variation, modification and change within =the spirit and scope of the subjoined claims.

What I claim is:

1. Apparatus for forming a stack of individual common carrier and mounted for rotation about said axis with said mandrel; each pressure unit having an inflatable member for alignment with and adapted to exert and retain pressure on a portion of said sheets at places applied after said portion has been laid on said mandrel.

2. Apparatus for forming a stack of individual flexible sheets of wood with adhesive therebetween into a tube comprising a mandrel rotatable about a given axis and adapted to have said sheets wrapped thereon; and a plurality of mobile pressure units disposed circumferentially spaced radially of said axis and mounted for rotation thereabout; each pressure unit having means adapted to exert and retain pressure on the portion of said sheets thereunder after said portion has been laid on said mandrel to force said sheets into tubular form.

3. Apparatus for forming a stack of individual flexible sheets of wood with adhesive therebetween into a tube and removing it from the apparatus comprising a solid mandrel rotatable about and slidable in terms of a given axis; said mandrel adapted to have said sheets wrapped thereon; and a plurality of pressure units spaced circumferentially and disposed radially of said axis so as to envelope said mandrel completely and mounted for rotation in terms of said axis; each pressure unit having a member adapted for engagement with and means to exert and retain pressure on a portion of said sheets after said portion has been laid on said mandrel to force said sheets into tubular form; and means to retain the tube at the location of formation after the adhesive has set and all applied pressure has been released therefrom while the mandrel is slid from the tube and means to slide said mandrel out of said tube after the adhesive has set and said pressure has been released.

4. Apparatus for forming a stack of individual flexible sheets of wood with adhesive thereon into a tube comprising a solid mandrel rotatable about a given axis; said mandrel adapted to have said sheets wrapped thereon; and a plurality of spaced pressure units disposed circumferentially and radially of said axis; and disposed for engagement with said sheets when laid on said mandrel; each unit having an inflatable member and a shoe as an integral part thereof adapted to force said shoe on a portion of said sheets after said portion has been laid on said mandrel.

5. Apparatus for forming a stack of individual flexible sheets of wood with adhesive therebetween into a tube comprising a mandrel rotatably mounted oil-a slidable shaft at a givenaxis'pan annular face platemounted on said shaft adjacent-one: end of said mandrelpsaid mandrel adapted to have said sheets wrapped thereon;

and a plurality of mobile pressure units, each mountedon a pressure bar support disposed radially of'said axis and mounted as a cylindrical unit for rotation with said mandrel aboutsaid-axi's;

each pressure unit when disposed-between said face plate and said cylindrical unit and having an inflatable member adapted to exert pressure outwardly on its correlatedpressure bar support andinwardly in terms of said axis on a "portion of said sheets aftersaid portion ha been laid-Joni the-'mandrel-to form said sheets into said tube.

6. Apparatus for forming a stack of individual flexible sheets of wood with adhesive therebetween into a tube comprising a mandrel rotatably mounted on a suitable shaft at a fixed axis; an annular face plate mounted on said shaft adjacent one end of said mandrel; said plate having a plurality of perforations adjacent its perimeter; said mandrel adapted to have said sheets wrapped thereon; and a plurality of mobile pressure units, each mounted on a pressure bar support spaced radially of said axis and mounted as a cylindrical unit for rotation thereabout; each of said bar supports having a projection to enter one of said perforations when suspended between said face.

plate and said cylindrical unit and having an inflatable member adapted to exertpressure out- Wardly on its correlated pressure bar support and inwardly on a portion of said sheets after they have been wrapped on the mandrel to form said sheets.

7. Apparatus for forming a stack of individual flexible sheets of wood with adhesive therebetween into a tube and removing the tube from the apparatus, comprising a solid mandrel rotatably mounted on a shaft; an annular plate mounted on said shaft adjacent one end of said mandrel; said mandrel adapted to have said sheets wrapped thereon; and a plurality of pressure units, each mounted on a pressure bar support disposed radially of a given axis and mounted as a cylindrical unit so as to envelop said mandrel completely; each pressure unit adapted to be suspended between said plate and said cylindrical unit and having an inflatable member adapted to exert pressure outwardly on its correlated pressure bar support and inwardly on a portion of said sheets after they have been wrapped on the mandrel to form said sheets into said tube; and means to retain the tube at the location of formation after the adhesive has set and all applied pressure has been released therefrom while the mandrel is slid from the tube.

8. Apparatus for forming a stack of individual flexible sheets of wood with adhesive therebetween into a tube comprising a rotatable solid mandrel mounted on a given axis and adapted to have said sheets wrapped thereon; and a plurality of pressure units arranged in spaced relation radially of said axis and lodged in a carrier located axially away from said mandrel and arranged to encompass said mandrel when pro-1 jected in part thereover from said carrier; each of said units having means for exerting pressure on a portion only of said sheets and the mandrel after said portion has been placed thereon and to retain said pressure while the adhesive sets to secure the sheets in the form determined by the mandrel. v

9. Apparatus for forming a stack of individual flexible sheets of wood with adhesive therebetweeminto a: tube; c'ompnising wrotatabie mandrel.

mcmntectmn aisgiven axismndaaclapted'rto: have said=sheets wlzapped-.:thereon; and a, plurality, {Of pressureiunitszslidable;in a pahh parwallel to :said

axis sandva'rraingedpin spaced relatiqnz radially of J said: :axis "and iodged in. a {carrier located axially from :said mandreh and; :arrangedqt encompass saa'd' mandrehwhen vprojectedv impart; thereover from said xcarrierj eachn01: said units having meansifor exerting pressureuon aport ion onlyeof cHARLEsxR-AMER; 1 5

The following references are :of recordzzin the fi1e-= of-t1-1is patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number v Sept-14, 1943 

1. APPARATUS FOR FORMING A STACK OF INDIVIDUAL FLEXIBLE SHEETS OF WOOD WITH ADHESIVE THEREBETWEEN INTO A TUBE COMPRISING A MANDREL ROTATABLE ABOUT A GIVEN AXIS AND ADAPTED TO HAVE SAID SHEETS WRAPPED THEREON; AND A PLURALITY OF MOBILE PRESSURE UNITS DISPOSED RADIALLY OF SAID AXIS ON A COMMON CARRIER AND MOUNTED FOR ROTATION ABOUT SAID AXIS WITH SAID MANDREL; EACH PRESSURE UNIT HAVING AN INFLATABLE MEMBER FOR ALIGNMENT WITH AND ADAPTED TO EXERT AND RETAIN PRESSURE ON A PORTION OF SAID SHEETS AT PLACES APPLIED AFTER SAID PORTION HAS BEEN LAID ON SAID MANDREL. 